Hey guys, I just joined this site today. I’m a 27 year-old dude from NB Canada. I’ve struggle with weight for too long, and I’m starting to really feel it.

I started this diet (5:2) 11 days ago, and weighed myself a few days into it. I was 278 lbs last Saturday when I did my first weigh-in. This morning I weighed-in at 272. Not bad after only one week!

I’m super excited to start feeling like my younger self. Already, even after just 11 days, I’ve noticed a massive energy improvement. The downside I’ve been facing is that I’ve had a harder time falling asleep at night because of the energy, but I attribute this issue more to a poor sleep habit.

Just wanted to give people a little encouragement who are thinking about doing this diet, it’s worked so far for me. The three fasting days I’ve faced so far saw me having soup, and granola bars to keep under 600 calories (550 to be exact). They’re not easy, but honestly it’s not that bad either. Very manageable. The other days have seen me eating all the regular crap I stuff down, just maybe a bit less. Also have been conscious about having more veggies and fruit – again nothing drastic yet. I still love my Kit-Kat bars.

@terdfergeson64 – just reading through posts looking for something on recipes and saw your news – 6lbs is a massive victory. If it helps any on fasting days I’ve just started but have made a discovery – using pine nuts in a vegetable smoothie – helps to suppress the appetite – and it did work for me, keep on with what you’re doing it’s obviously working.

Terdferg + Aiming: don’t forget the protein in your Fasting meals. “Keeping it under 600” is the goal, but those calories need to be quality calories: lean protein, vegetables, whole fruits. The other plus for proteins is that they retard muscle loss as you exercise for muscle building. One reason you want to build muscle is to replace the space taken up by the fat that you are losing from under your skin.

Second weigh in I lost another 8 lbs, 14 total! I feel amazing. I have a LONG way to go, but holy poop am I excited about this.

My last weigh-in was unfortunately a null in weigh-loss. This is my own fault though… I was sick for the whole week and didn’t choose to fast on one of my fasting days, instead I ate a lot of hearty foods in hopes to get over the full body flu/cold.

Good news was that I kicked the flu fast, bad news is that I didn’t lose weight. Not enough to discourage me as I recognize my OWN FAULT in it.

I’m oddly excited for my next fasting days! I will take your advice and make certain I’m eating lots of protein in my 600 calories.

Alright so now I’m at week 6. The last few weeks (between weeks 3 and 6) have been basically a stalemate. I’d lose, gain back, lose again (etc…). I’ve stuck with it though, and I haven’t given up. I don’t know any science behind this stuff, but I almost wonder if it just takes my body a bit of adjusting for the lifestyle change? (That made no sense, but I’ll leave that sentence in here anyway).

Finally after some discouraging weigh-ins, this morning I weighed in at 257! Which means after 6 weeks I’m down 21 lbs. Feels so good to break the “250-zone”.

fasting_me: I’ve really taken what you said about protein more seriously. I think this has been helping me feel good in addition to all the other super important stuff it will do long term for me.

First weigh in (Day 6. Two days since my last fast day). My weight is exactly the same down to the tenth of a pound. The fast days were extremely difficult. The first day I may have messed up and eaten 550 calories instead of 500 and the second fast day I ate 400 of protein and lettuce and cucumber-only. I stuck to my one-month new excercize (HIIT stair climbing) routine as well. Still I lost zero pounds. 🙁

Hi Mblue. I have the same problem. Eating properly on my non-fast days and keeping to my 500 kcals on the others (give or take) yet no loss. In fact, a small gain at one point. Very discouraging 5 fasts in. Last time I did this (a few years back) weightloss was really good, but now, not so hot 🙁 not sure what to do except persevere and think about the other long term benefits my body and mind should be reaping.

@mblue – you are doing HIIT stair climbing and you didn’t gain any weight. It is very possible you are gaining muscle and losing fat. Exercise often makes us heavier, but for the right reasons.

@gecko – I often don’t see progress, even for months. However I eat above my estimated TDEE on some NFDs. I typically eat 14000 to 15000 calories a week. That is partly because I want to build and maintain muscle mass. Maybe you are eating more than you realize. Since I like to eat a lot of food, I avoid refined sugar which really means most processed foods and eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. If you really want to eat a lot eat vegetables without a lot of stuff on them. Learn to get different tastes with mixtures and spices instead of cheese and dressings. I do eat a lot of cheese, but I’m aware of the calorie cost when I do. It is so easy to overeat. Anyway over a year I see a lot of progress, but often I don’t over a few weeks. Stick too it and give it time to work.

Well, it’s been a year now! I know people aren’t super following this thread, but it feels good to post here.

After one full year I’m down 41 lbs!

I’m down a bit even more, but the official one year mark saw me weighing in at 237 lbs (starting point 278). I feel like a different person. Literally no more back pain, lags don’t go numb, tons of energy! I still have a way to go, and will likely take me another year and a half, but I don’t care. I feel amazing, this is so worth it.

As far as 5:2 specifics go…
My “2” days usually see me eating 800 calories now, instead of 600, and 4 (of the “5”) days see me eating about 1700 or less, leaving one awesome day a week where I still don’t count calories.

With this new regime I’m actually loosing a lot more, closer to 2 lbs a week and at a steady pace. Don’t know if that works for everyone, but that’s the great thing about 5:2 – flexibility. It’s second nature now to me, like 800 days are easy, 1700 days are easy. Honestly my “cheat” days I rarely ever even hit 3000k (I am still a 28 year old dude, and I can eat a LOT of food, so this is progress).

Good luck to anyone reading this. You CAN do this! It will be the best thing you can do for yourself, and it’s SO worth the period of difficulty until you get used to it.

Terdferd, that is fantastic! Great job losing 41 pounds and continuing to lose. What do your NB friends think of this? We summer in PEI, where people seem skeptical about the reason for weight loss. I bet NH is the same. You can be a shining example of how well 5:2 works and of its benefits.